This invention relates generally to power operated, rotary fish scalers, and more particularly relates to such fish scalers particularly adapted for portable, hand-held usage and constructed for battery operation.
The descaling of fish has been a nuisance for about as long as there have been fisherman. It is thus not surprising that many methods for facilitating the descaling of fish have been proposed.
Various proposals have suggested descaling methods using motor driven rotary members which manually remove the scales by abrasion or scraping. These methods have included use of a tool which would provide elongate edges formed by ridges radially extending from a tubular member. The member was to be rotated at speeds approximately 1200 to 1400 r.p.m. to cause the edges to scrape against the scales of the fish.
Other proposed methods have included use of a descaling tool which provided circumferential rows of cutting teeth about the rotary axis of the tool. The tool was adapted to be inserted into an electric drill for effecting rotation of the teeth about the axis and against the fish.
Still another proposed method suggested use of a cylindrical member having holes radially drilled through the member for providing the scraping edges. The member was to be inserted into an electric drill for rotation of the edges against the fish.
The methods and devices heretofore proposed by the prior art have generally not been adapted for high volume, economical production. Electrically operated drills usually are relatively low speed, high torque motors which are not only relatively expensive, but also are relatively heavy, tending to be awkward and tiresome to the operator during use. Furthermore, use of other than battery operated drills poses a safety problem due to the wet environment in which the tool was to be utilized. It is believed that the use of electric drills and the like for rotating the descaling tools has resulted from a lack of recognition of the prior art that the descaling tool could be coupled to the source of rotary power using a speed reducer, thereby allowing a relatively high speed, low torque motor to rotate the tool at lesser speeds.
Known prior art descaling tools also have been suggested which use cylindrically arranged teeth or ridges equidistantly positioned from an axis of rotation. The teeth of these tools define circles when rotated during operation. Although such a design provides a relatively large surface area for engaging the scales of the fish, it has been at the sacrifice of requiring a source of proportionately greater horsepower. Furthermore, such a cylindrical design, unless the diameter of the cylinder is sufficiently small, appears to offer little facility for scraping the scales out of relatively inaccessible regions on the fish, such as near the fins and on the underbody.
Still further, the known prior art devices appear not to have addressed themselves to the problem of flying scales during the removal process. Occasionally the removed scales annoyingly fly into the person of the user. One proposal has suggested controlling the distance to which the removed scales are scattered by controlling the rotational speed of the descaling too. This solution, however, appears not to be entirely satisfactory from preventing scales from flying into the person of the user.